Display stand



April l19, 1938. w. P. cR'lLLY 2,114,735

DISPLAY STAND Filed 00's. 5, 1956 j, .I Mor/@ey n Patented Apr. 19, 1938 UNrrso stares Application October 5,

s claims.

This invention relates ,generally to display equipment, and more particularly to display stands for cylindrical cans, as for instance, for cans of motor oil.

It is now common practice to vend motor oil in cans of one quart capacity, and service station operators frequently place these cans in View of their customers for the purpose of promoting sales. Cans of oil placed within reach of the public, however, are subject to pilferage, and a means for somewhat restraining the cans against removal is therefore desirable. Also, it is desirable thatv the holding or supporting means support the cans in an attractive and effective manner, l5 so as to bring the brand of the oil to the favorable attention of the customers of the station.

An object of the invention is therefore to provide a novel and attractive display stand adapted to carry and display in an effective manner a number of containers, as for instance cans of motor oil.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a display stand with can supporting means of such a nature as to restrain the cans. somewhat against removal, so that the cans cannotV easily be removed by unauthorized persons without the knowledge of the service station operator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a stand that is simple in construction as well as inexpensive to manufacture.

A. present preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described for illustrative purposes, reference for this purpose being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is an elevation of the stand of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal transverse section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail'view of a portion of the standard and can supporting brackets.;

Fig. 4 is a detail section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2; Y

Fig. 5 is a detail section taken as indicated by line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a detail section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a detail section taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing numeral l0 designates genn 50 erally the vertically fluted standard of the display stand. This standard, which is formed of sheet metal, lapped and welded as at Il (see Fig. 2), is in the present instance provided with six flutes l2 extending vertically from end to end, 55 the arcuate or concave wall portions I3 forming 1936, Serial N0. 103,969

said flutes being of substantially the same curvature as the side wall of the cylindrical cans or containers to be supported by the stand, or oi the curvature of the beads at the ends of such a can. The supported cans, indicated at C, are supported, by means later to be described, with their cylindrical side walls adjacent these arcuate or concave wall portions i3 of the standard, as in Fig. 2, and the cross sectional dimensions ci the standard, that is, the diameter of the standard and the dimensions of curvature and number of concave wall portions or iiutes i3 and connecting wall are such as to provide a suitable spacing distance s between the cans to be supported on the standard (see Fig. 2).

In the present illustrative form of the invention, the standard is equipped for support of three vertically spaced tiers of cans, the cans in each tier being arranged as in Fig. 2, though this nurnber may obviously be varied as desired.

The preferred supporting devices for holding the cans in the positions described are as follows: mounted on the standard, opposite flutes l2, and at suitable vertical spacing, are three tiers of spring wire can supporting brackets t5. Each of these bracket devices constitutes a spring wire having its two ends bent downwardly, as at ifi, so as to be engageable back of a pair ci loops il bent outwardly from wall portion i3 of the standard. In forming these loops, the wall portion i3 is provided with a vertically elongated depression i3, substantially as deep as the thickness of the wire that forms bracket l5, and the metal forming this depression iii is horizontally slit at l and it) and loop il is bent outwardly suiiiciently to receive the Vdownwardly turned inner end iii of the bracket. As clearly shown in the drawing, two of such loops are provided for` each bracket, and are suitably spaced to receive the two downwardly turned bracket ends i6.

Each bracket l5 has portions 2i extending outwardly at right angles from its downwardly turned ends It?, and when ends it are engaged back of loop il, these portions 2l extend outwardly from the standard in a substantially horizontal plane and along lines substantially radial to the Vertical center line or" the standard. At the outer ends of horizontally extending portions 2l, the bracket is. formed with upwardly and slightly inwardly bent portions 22, the upper ends of which are connected by an arcuate portion 23 of substantially the curvature of the can C which is to be supported by the bracket.

It was stated in the preceding paragraph that the brackets extend outwardly from the standard in a substantially horizontal plane. Preferably, however, the bracket is so formed as to assume a normal position, when no can is mounted thereon, extending outwardly from the standard in a direction slightly above horizontal, as indicated in the full lines of Fig. 5. When the can is to be mounted on the bracket, it is rst placed with its bottom end in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5, with the outer portion of its lower end engaged back of bracket portion 23, and with the bead at its lower end against the concave Wall portion I3 of the standard. The can is then thrust downwardly and inwardly, bending the bracket downwardly through the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, and on down until its bottom end fully engages bracket members 2i and its side surface comes against wall portion I3 of the standard. The can is then released, and the bracket springs slightly upwardly, as to a position with members 2l in a substantially horizontal position (Fig. 4), and so presses the can somewhat tightly against the concave wall portion I3 of the standard. The bracket thus functions as a combined support and yielding clamp. To remove the can, it is simply grasped by its upper end and rocked outwardly from the standard, whereupon it becomes released by the spring bracket. Preferably, the spring bracket is so formed as to grip the lower end of the can with some fair amount of tightness, so that the can cannot accidentally fall or be knocked from the bracket, and cannot be lifted from the bracket without at least some exertion of effort against the restraint imposed by the bracket. However, this yielding restraint to removal of the can imposed by the spring bracket may be adjusted to any degree desired, and in certain instances, it may be desirable to eliminate'this restraint entirely, the bracket then serving simply as a support, and having no clamping characteristics. It will be obvious that the degree of clamping action possessed by the bracket depends entirely upon the length of the members 2i with reference to the diameter of the can to be supported, and that this relation may be adjusted as desired to meet the requirements of any given situation.

The lower end of the standard rests on and is secured to a base member 3i) in the form of a circular plate having a downwardly turned marginal portion 3! adapted to rest on the floor or ground surface. A cross brace member 32 is mounted in the lower end of standard I, being fastened to the side walls of theY standard as by rivets 33. The standard is then secured to base member by means of a screw 34 passing downwardly through cross member 32 and a central aperture 35 in base 3U, a nut 35 being screwed on the lower end of said screw and being set up against the under side of base 30, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 7. There is thus provided a simple but rigid base mounting for the standard.

The upper end of the standard is closed by a cap provided with a downwardly turned marginal flange 4! secured by means of screws 42 to opposite wall portions I4 of the standard. Mounted on the upper side of this cap 4B are two brackets 43, spaced to receive between them a vertically extending card or panel 45, which may be shaped in any attractive manner desired and may-carry suitable advertising matter, as indicated. This panel is fastened between brackets 4,3 as by means of screws 46. Y

The cap is also provided with a pair of handle devices 41, here shown in the form of loops provided with vertically extending portions 48 slidable through apertures 49 provided in cap 40, portions 48 being bent inwardly at their lower ends, as at 50 (Fig. l) so as to engage the underside of the cap when lifted to the carrying position of Fig. 1. When the can is not being carried, the handles drop to the position shown at the left in Fig. 6, all but the upper horizontal handle portion 5I at this time being concealed.

There has now been described one specic illustrative embodiment of the invention; it is to be understood, however, that various changes in design, structure, and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and Scope of the invention or from the broader of the appended claims.

, I claim:

1. In a display stand, the combination of Ya standard having a horizontally curved concave surface, of a curvature such as substantially to t the convex side of a can to be supported, and a spring bracket adapted to support a can with its side adjacent said concave surface, said bracket comprising a Vwire having its two ends engageable withthe standard in a manner to support the bracket on the standard, and having two can bottom supporting portions extending outwardly from said standard in a substantially horizontal plane, said last two portions merging with a bent upconnecting portion adapted to engagel the lower portion of a can mounted on said can supporting portions on its side opposite the standard.

2. In a display stand, the combination of a standard having a horizontally curved concave surface, of a curvature such as substantially to fit the convex side of a can to be supported, and a spring bracket adapted to support a can with its side adjacent said concave surface, said bracket comprising a wire having its two ends engageable with the standard in a manner to support the bracket on the standard, and Vhaving two can bottom supporting portions extending outwardly from said standard in a substantially horizontal plane, said last two portions merging with a bent up connecting portion curved horizontally to substantially the curvature of the can and adapted to engage the lower portion of a can mounted on said can supporting portions on its side opposite the standard.

3. In a display stand, the combination of a standard having ahorizontally curved concave surface, of a curvature such as substantially to t the convex side of a can to be supported, and a spring bracket adapted to support a can with its side adjacent said concave surface, said bracket comprising a Wire having its two ends bent downwardly and engageable with the standard, whereby the bracket is supported on the standard, and having two can bottom supporting portions extending outwardly from said standard in a substantially horizontal plane, said last two por-- tions merging with a bent up connecting portion curved horizontally to substantially the curvature of the can and adapted to engage the lower portion of a can mounted on said can supporting portions on its side opposite the standard.

WILLIAM P. CRILLY. 

